Shahenshah, Mohd. Muzamil Bhat, Syed Zulifiqar Ahmad Andrabi and Siddhartha Shukla
The study aims to observe the effect of idol immersion on the water quality of Saryu river Faizabad. The immersion of idols of Lord Ganesh and Durga during Ganesh Ustav and Navratris festival is a major source of contamination and sedimentation to the river. Idols are made of clay but non-biodegradable thermocol and paints containing heavy metals are also used. The immersion practices leads to degradation of water quality and siltation. The parameters analyzed were dissolved oxygen (DO), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total hardness, turbidity, calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and potentially toxic metals: cadmium (Cd), manganese (Mn), lead (Pb), iron (Fe) and mercury (Hg). The findings of the study revealed that the water quality degraded after the immersion of idols as some of the parameters were above the permissible limit.
